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This very brief communication is aimed to highlight some recent contact points between neurosciences and dynamical system theory, passing through paleoneurology, with some remarks suggesting further possible interdisciplinary developments.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus associated with the disease called COVID-19 and become a global pandemic. The only way to prevent its severe scenarios is through timely and rapid testing. In comparison to more time taking gold-standard RT-PCR testing, rapid diagnostic kits are used. For better prevention and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, the analysis of rapid diagnostic kits' accuracy and specificity is necessary. This study is meant to assess and examine the viability, responsiveness, and explicitness of quick antigen distinguishing nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), and saliva-based units. The study was conducted on 200 suspected COVID-19 patients from Islamabad, 100 of which were RT-PCR positive while 100 were RT-PCR negative. For the analysis of Rapid diagnostic COVID-19 kits (RDT), nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) and saliva samples were taken from the RT-PCR positive and negative patients. Among 100 RT-PCR positive patients, 62% were males (19 - 91 years), 34% were females (20 - 78 years) and 4% were children (6 - 17 years). False-negative results were significantly more observed in saliva-based RDTs of the sample (49%) as compared to nasopharyngeal swab RDT (38%). There were 2% invalid results in saliva-based RDT and 3% invalid results in Nasopharyngeal swab RDT. While among 100 RT-PCR negative patients 69% were males (19 - 80 yrs), 27% were females (18 - 77 yrs) and 4% were children (12 - 16 yrs.). False positive results were significantly more in saliva-based RDT (22%) as compared to Nasopharyngeal swab RDT (13%). The sensitivity and specificity of saliva-based RDT were 67% and 87% respectively while that of Nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) was 72% and 82% respectively, both of which were less than the gold standard RT-PCR sensitivity demanding the introduction of more sensitive RDT kits in Pakistan for accurate detection of COVID-19.

Introduction: It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation still remains to be a serious problem for large proportion of women in most sub-Saharan Africa countries including Sudan, with a high prevalence of 88%. Objective: The main objective was to identify the factors associated with FGM among daughters of reproductive aged woman. Materials and methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 mothers, the total sample was collected in ACTH based on the number of reproductive age mothers with at least one daughter older than 5 years. A structured and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data obtained was analyzed by the use of the SPSS software. Results: Out of 200 mothers, 113 (56.5%) had at least one circumcised daughter. Knowledge about genital mutilation (AOR = 4.29, 95% CI: 1.13-15.37), attitude (AOR = 48.53, 95% CI: 14.45-198.69) and mothers circumcision status (AOR = 14.03, 95% CI: 2.81- 95.45) were the most significantly associated with FGM. Furthermore, having good knowledge, positive attitude, high socio-economic status, being literate, being of Christian religion and living in urban area had lower odds of having a circumcised daughter. Conclusion: In this study, more than half of the mothers had at least one circumcised daughter. Mothers’ knowledge, attitude, circumcision status, socio-economic status, age, residence, educational level and religion were significantly associated with female genital mutilation.

Naturally, microorganisms decompose the organic material existing in nature, both in the presence or absence of oxygen. The majority of materials such as poisonous chemical compounds, heavy metals, would prevent the treatment process from taking place, lead to the entry of these contaminants into the environment results in the emergence of numerous diseases. In the present study, using the TOXChem4.1 simulation model, attempts were made to simulate a wastewater treatment plant and then assess the dispersions of contaminants including 1,2-Dimethylnaphthalene, 1,3-Dinitropyrene, 1,6-Dimethylnaphthalene, 1,6-Dinitropyrene, and 17a-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in concentrations of a common scenario. The results of computer simulations showed that the EE2 contaminant is of the highest percentage of decomposition among others, due to its wider chemical structure. Consequently, it is clear that such contaminant is of the highest mass in the sludge exiting the treatment plant. In addition, the results of the simulations demonstrated that the highest volumes of gaseous pollutants take place in the modulation and initial sedimentation units.

A new design system is introduced to generate clean eco-friendly electricity from rain fall water. The majority of traffic roads in the world has constructed water ditches for one aim. This is for the accumulation of rain fall water from the roads.

Continuous noninvasive cuffless blood pressure (BP) monitoring is essential for early detection and treatment of hypertension. In this paper, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in cuffless BP sensors. These include contact wearable sensors such as electrocardiography (ECG), photoplethysmography (PPG), contact non-wearable sensors such as ballistocardiography (BCG), and contactless sensors such as video plethysmography (VPG). These sensors employ different measuring mechanisms such as pulse arrival time (PAT), pulse transit time (PTT), and pulse wave analysis (PWA) to estimate BP. However, challenges exist in the effective use and interpretation of signal features to obtain clinically reliable BP measurements. The correlations between signal features and BP are obtained by mechanism-driven models which use physiological principles to identify mathematical correlations, and data-driven models which use machine learning algorithms to analyze observational data to identify multidimensional correlations. On the one hand, applying mechanism-driven models to non-linear scenarios and incomplete or noisy data is challenging On the other hand, data-driven models require a large amount of data in order to prevent physically inconsistent predictions, resulting in poor generalization. From this perspective, this paper proposes to combine the strengths of mechanism-driven and data-driven approaches to obtain a more comprehensive approach, the physiology-informed machine-learning approach, with the goal of enhancing the accuracy, interpretability, and scalability of continuous cuffless BP monitoring. This holds promise for personalized clinical applications and the advancement of hypertension management.

Down syndrome is a common chromosomal abnormality that affects individuals in their physical, cognitive, and social development. The diagnosis of this syndrome in a newborn can be challenging for parents as it may disrupt family dynamics. In this study, we describe the different aspects of the impact of Down syndrome on parents, including psychological, social, and familial impacts. 55 cases participated in this survey; the average age of parents was 34 years old, and mothers represented 96% of the participants. 70% of cases were from urban areas. The average time between diagnosis and parental evaluation was 32.7 months. In 57% of families, the diagnosis of Down syndrome was established only after the third month of pregnancy, and only 5% obtained it during the prenatal period. Depression was reported in 32% of mothers at the time of diagnosis, while one mother exhibited persistent denial of her child’s disability. 30% of families indicated that their child with Down syndrome was the source of tension within the couple and that learning difficulties were the main factor of tension, while 1% eventually divorced. 5% of parents regretted having a child with Down syndrome. All mothers expressed concerns about their child’s future and are in favor of the establishment of a national screening program for trisomy 21 and dedicated learning centers to ensure social and professional integration.

Introduction: Hypertension is the strongest independent predictor of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) identified by Computed tomography of coronary arteries (CTCA). In this study, CTCA-assessed Coronary Calcium Scoring (CCS) was studied in hypertensive subjects referred for CTCA.Methods: After excluding TAVI and graft assessment patients, the individual electronic health records of 410 consecutive patients who underwent CTCA between July and November 2020, were reviewed with a mean age of 58.7 years. Risk factors were recorded including smoking (38%), hyperlipidaemia (33%), positive family history (22%), systemic hypertension (48%), diabetes mellitus (30%), and male gender (46%). Referral criteria, ethnicity, cardiac, and past medical history were recorded. Patients were stratified into four groups according to CAD severity: absent, mild, moderate, and severe disease, as seen on CTCA. The mean CCS for each CAD category was compared between hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients. Mean CCS were further compared according to the number of coronary arteries affected and the severity of CAD in each artery. Results: Out of all CTCA reports, 200 (48.8%) CCS were interpreted in the very low-risk category, 80 (19.5%) low risk, 58 (14.1%) moderate risk, 23 (5.6%) moderately high risk and 49 (12.0%) high risk. A significant difference in mean CCS and CAD severity was observed between mild, moderate, and severe CAD (p = 0.015 and p < 0.001). Comparison of CCS between hypertensives and non-hypertensives, across the four CAD severity categories, revealed a significant difference in mean CCS in the severe CAD category (p = 0.03). There was no significant difference in the CCS between hypertensives with chest pain and hypertensives without chest pain. A higher number of affected coronary arteries was associated with a higher mean CCS and a significant difference in CCS was observed between hypertensive and non-hypertensive subjects for the number of arteries affected. Similar results were observed when comparing mean CCS in moderate-severely affected coronary arteries.Conclusion: Hypertensive patients with a high CCS were associated with a higher incidence of severe CAD independent of the presence of chest pain. These results suggest that the incorporation of CCS in the investigation of CAD on CT angiography may pose a powerful adjunct in proposing an alternative paradigm for the assessment of patients with hypertension, in the progress of coronary artery disease. 

Background: Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women and the quality of life of women with breast cancer is a significant healthcare issue specifically in developing and underdeveloped countries.Globally quality of Life (QoL) has become an important indicator to measure the outcomes of medical and nursing interventions. The QoL studies have an imperative role in healthcare especially in chronic disease as the latest diagnostic and treatment modalities have increased the survival rates and duration of cancer patients. Similarly, breast cancer itself and its treatment with Chemotherapy, in particular, has many complications and negative impacts on the QoL of cancer women. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the QoL of Pakistani women with Breast Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and the relationship of QoL with socio-demographic variables.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 110 female breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. FACIT-B questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of these patients. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS version 20 using the Pearson correlation coefficient, Chi-square test, and Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of participants was (mean ± SD) 42.98 ± 8.98. A significant negative correlation was observed with age and QoL, r = -0.218, p - value 0.022. No significant association was observed between QoL and marital status; education status; and socioeconomic status.Conclusion: The majority of breast cancer women 59(53.6%) had moderate QoL and Chemotherapy also showed moderate impacts on different domains: physical, functional emotional, social, and sexual well-being of the women.

A comprehensive approach to asymptomatic adults with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) pattern discovered incidentally on routine electrocardiography (ECG) is debatable. The objective of this review article is to update the most recent evidence on the management of young patients with asymptomatic WPW patterns. A substantial proportion of adults with WPW patterns on ECG may remain asymptomatic but the lifetime risk for fatal arrhythmias still exists. The inherent properties of the accessory pathway determine the risk of sudden cardiac death. A low-risk pathway is considered when the pre-excitation is intermittent on ambulatory monitoring or when it disappears completely or abruptly during exercise testing. On the other hand, a high-risk pathway in EP study is suggested by the presence of the shortest pre-excited RR interval (SPERRI) during atrial fibrillation of ≤ 250 ms or accessory pathway effective refractory period (APERP) ≤ 240 ms. The cardiac evaluation may thus be considered in asymptomatic patients with WPW to determine the individual risk for future symptomatic arrhythmia. A shared-decision making must be performed before offering catheter ablation whose procedural success rate is high.